


Revoked

by Angelicat2



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angry Shiro (Voltron), Bigotry & Prejudice, Blood and Injury, Crying Keith (Voltron), Fantastic Racism, Feral Behavior, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) Whump, Muzzles, Nightmares, Protective Shiro (Voltron), Quintessence (Voltron), Scared Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 08:47:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20992031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelicat2/pseuds/Angelicat2
Summary: The people of Earth find out that Keith is half-Galra. Things start going downhill as Keith's clearance gets revoked and prejudiced views race to a head. Caught in the middle of a trap while saving the people of Earth, Keith gets hurt, and Shiro can't stop it from happening.





	Revoked

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting around for a while so I added more today. Enjoy!

"I want his clearance revoked!"

"Restrict it!"

"We want him out of here!"

"We can't trust him!"

Shiro rubbed his temple at the noise. He had been called into a sudden meeting, interrupted from his time at Keith's bedside. The younger was out of his coma, but he wasn't quite finished healing. He still had broken ribs, a head injury, minor fractures, and lots of bruises. Shiro could have been using his limited time to be with him instead of a random meeting where people were yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. 

"He is no paladin!"

"He's going to hurt my baby!"

"He's one of them!"

"Alright!" Shiro banged his metal fist on the table, making all the protesters become silent at once. The man glanced at them all before straightening his back, letting out a breath, "What is your problem? And please, don't start shouting again. We're not the only ones in this building."

"We were saying," one woman stepped up, her graying hair tied up in a tight bun and a scowl on her lips, "That we feel it is best that the...pilot of the Black Lion be restricted or even removed from his position."

Anger coursed through Shiro. He smothered it with a raised brow, repeating that patience yields focus before asking.

"And why do you wish that?"

He already had an idea why.

"He is Galra," another man spoke beside her, his dark green eyes glaring with a defiant gleam, "And we don't trust him."

"He saved you," Shiro frowned as he tapped the desk, glancing around at the higher-level people in the room, "Without Voltron, Earth would not be here today."

"Without the Galra," he spat back with angry brows, "Earth would have been fine. But those greedy bastards took everything. How do we know that the leader of Voltron won't do the same? Take the Black Lion and help the enemy? Your Admiral trusted them and got stabbed in the back for it."

"She was also playing with the wrong person," Shiro grinded his teeth before sighing, "Look. I know how hard it was. You've been fighting the Galra for years now. People have been hurt, people have died, and I get that. But not every Galra is bad. The Blade of Marmora stands with us, to fight against the Empire. Keith is part of the group, and he is doing everything in his power to put this war to rest."

"But-"

"If you want more proof," Shiro stared at them before narrowing his eyes, "Then you can accept what I say. I, Takashi Shirogane, captain of the Atlas, vouch for Keith, the pilot of the Black Lion and member of the Blade of Marmora. I trust him and you should too."

"Faulty logic!" Another woman shouted with dark hair and a stern expression, likely a teacher from one of the high schools in the area that got destroyed, "Just because you hold a powerful position doesn't mean we should listen. For all we know, you're just saying that because you favor him."

"Yeah!"

"Damn right!"

"She's right!"

"Okay," Shiro started after they settled down enough, "While I do tend to favor the paladins of Voltron, and possibly Keith more so than the others, I do not allow anything bad here. If the paladins do something wrong, they will be punished just the same as any of the others, including myself."

"That's not enough!" The man shouted before waving his hand at them, "He must be restricted. Less access to things. For all we know, he is working with another group of Galra. Backstabbing us at this very second."

"Keith needs clearance to those areas," Shiro almost growled as he clenched his fist to the underside of the table, "He must be able to practice with his team and should be allowed the same access the rest get."

"We won't have it," another woman spoke as she shook her head, "That...that animal-"

"He is a person," Shiro scowled deeply but was ignored. 

"Could hurt my baby."

"Yeah! What if he tries to murder the kids!"

"What if he gives away information!"

"What if he…"

The voices mashed together as Shiro pressed his face into his hand. This was ridiculous. How the hell did these people know anyway? Krolia and Kolivan were barely there long enough to see Keith. They could have figured it out if they saw the two but he couldn’t remember seeing any of them on the Garrison grounds before today...unless it was leaked. He'd have to get someone to look into that…

"We hear you," a voice interrupted them all, making the concerned ones quiet, "And we have decided that it would be best to restrict the Black Paladin."

Shiro's heart broke at the words, fracturing at each new word now.

"He will not be able to go in certain areas like the cafeteria, training room, or hangar without strict permission. He will be banned from the lion-"

"He should be allowed to visit his lion," Shiro spoke up as he glared at the man who had been speaking, "The connection between a paladin and their lion is sacred. Sometimes they need to visit them, to keep up the bond and to keep their own minds in balance."

"All the more reason not to let him!"

"Yeah!"

"Exactly!"

"Then we will put these restrictions on him right away," the other man stated as he tapped his screen, "Thank you for sharing your concerns with us. Good day."

Shiro didn't wait. He left the room first, fuming at their ignorance and prejudice views. His fist probably dented in the metal on the conference door, but he didn't care about it as he rushed straight for Keith's room. When he got there, the younger was still there, sleeping quietly as his wolf rested by his feet.

"You been watching him, boy?"

The cosmic wolf tilted his head before resting it on the floor, as if he knew all about the meeting that had just happened. Shiro didn't doubt he did. The wolf was scarily smart like that. Said wolf whined softly before huffing with annoyance and anger.

"I know," Shiro answered back softly before petting the other, "Me too."

Plopping down in the chair by Keith's side, he waited as the other man slept. He could give Keith a little more time before he had to drop the news.

…..

Shiro wandered around the halls. Keith was supposed to meet him for a hoverbike ride, but the younger had yet to arrive. In fact, he was fifteen minutes late. 

Shiro was worried. Keith had become quiet, more so than usual. With every glare others shot him, he became more withdrawn. His connection with Black was not helping either. Even Shiro could not get clearance to sneak Keith into his lion. And it was putting more strain on him as they did that. Keith needed to see his lion, to work on their bond…

A small sound pulled him from his thoughts. 

“Keith?” Shiro asked by the other’s door, wondering if Keith was inside. If he was...did he accidentally oversleep or couldn’t pick what to wear for the evening? Was he doing anything in there? What if he was doing something that he wouldn’t want Shiro walking in on? Listening closely, he pressed his ear to the door, hearing a strange noise. It sounded like something was scratching at something…

Brows furrowed, Shiro quickly pressed his palm to the DNA scanner in the corner. When the door opened, he rushed inside to see a sight that made him beyond pissed.

The room wasn’t messed with, but its occupant was. Keith was pressed close to the wall on the opposite side of the room, in a corner that Shiro would have missed him in if he hadn’t been looking for him. The younger’s back was to him so he couldn’t see the other’s front. Something really wasn’t right. 

“Keith?” 

The younger didn’t seem to hear him, so maybe he had passed out on accident while going into his room? Walking up to the other, he knelt down to place his hand on the younger’s shoulder when something slashed at his cheek. Pain flared in his face as he yelped in surprise as the same thing punched at him in the spot just above that. Grabbing onto Keith’s arms, he fought hard to keep the other from hurting him more. Wrestling with his strong, best friend was more difficult that he figured as the younger continued to freak out. Pushing the other against the wall, he pressed his mechanical to the other’s wrists, holding both tightly together in order to not let them free. In all this time, he had yet to hear a sound from Keith.

Finally catching his breath, he gazed up at the younger and froze. Keith was panicking still, eyes blazing the brightest Shiro had ever seen in his life. The tiny orbs were sliding around in all directions in his fright as he panted unevenly, face way too pale to be normal. He was still fighting to get free, but now he was making little distressed sounds.

And he was muzzled.

Shiro’s anger burned so hot that he was ready to punch something. A moment passed as he glanced over the cruel device. It was black as Keith’s hair, wrapping around his chin and mouth, with slits big enough for the other to breathe out of. From what Shiro could see, the thing was keeping Keith’s mouth firmly trapped shut as his teeth were sharp as needles. The other couldn’t move his mouth nor could he make much noise. Said device was connected through a make-shift hook on the wall, a chain running through it to cuffs on Keith’s wrists that Shiro was now holding.

“Shit,” Shiro cursed under his breath before rubbing his hand to Keith’s cheek which only seemed to make the other panic more, “It’s okay. Shhh...I’m here, Keith. It’s me. Shiro. Keith, breathe for me. Come on, buddy.”

Keith’s eyes skidded around for a second before they landed on him, going even smaller than before as he hissed, renewing his fighting as he got his fist free. Shiro ducked out of the way as the younger dove for him. He didn’t get far as the chain yanked on his arms, pulling them back tightly as Keith made a pained sound. Before Shiro could say anything, the younger began ripping into the muzzle with his claws, crying out weakly as he pawed at the device. Shiro was frozen in shock for a long moment before he leapt forward, pressing Keith’s hands to the wall and making sure he couldn’t injure himself worse. Fighting both Keith and the muzzle, he eventually popped it off of the other’s face. 

By this time, Keith was crying, clearly shaken and torn. His face was bleeding steadily from the scratches on his cheeks. His teeth were still as sharp as before as he sobbed quietly, tears mixing with the blood and smearing down his chin to the floor. Shiro’s heart crashed into his chest as the younger buried his face in his arms. Quickly, Shiro removed the cuffs before hugging the other right to his chest. At first, the younger panicked, wriggling in his hold. But he soon gave up after being unable to break free.

“I’m sorry, Keith,” Shiro pressed his chin to the other’s head. Keith was a bit chilly to the touch, skin not as warm as usual. Shiro rubbed his flesh hand through Keith’s hair, which brought out an even deeper cry as Keith buried his face in Shiro’s leather jacket. The older hummed sweet nothings to him as he attempted to get Keith to calm down. What felt like a month later, he noticed that Keith had hardly calmed.

Hands to Keith cheeks, Shiro carefully turned the other's face to look into his eyes better. Like predicted, Keith was still in his Galra mode. His eyes were still as frantic as before, zipping around before settling on him momentarily and flying away to the wall.

"This really affected you, huh?" Shiro questioned sadly before sighing softly, "I...I don't know how to help you...I don’t know how to calm you down."

Keith didn't acknowledge him, only pressed closer before staring at Shiro's shirt with an unblinking gaze. The older frowned before cautiously getting his communicator out, sending a silent message to the other paladins. 

Picking Keith up isn't hard. The younger weighed almost nothing as he hugs himself to Shiro's chest. Shiro holds him under his mid-thighs as he wanders through the halls to his room, muttering into Keith’s ear all the while. People linger about in the hall, pointing and whispering to each other, but Shiro ignored them as he moved on. Some of them were the ones who caused this in the first place...for believing all the rumors and lies. For their views on the Galra. Shiro hugged Keith closer as he walked on.

The paladins are already in his room when he arrived. As soon as they saw Keith in his arms, they grow concerned. 

"What's wrong?" Allura demanded as her icy eyes looked them over, "Why are you bleeding, Shiro?"

"Were you guys attacked?" Hunk's eyes widened as he gazed at them, moving his hand to Keith's shoulder only for the other to let out a tiny whine and flinch back, "I...what's wrong with Keith?"

"I'll explain in a minute," Shiro reassured before going to his bed, plopping them both on it. Keith refused to remove his hands from Shiro’s shirt, so the older sighed again before settling them both on the bed, wrapping the blanket around the other’s shoulders, “Keith got attacked.”

“Well, I think we figured that one out,” Pidge stared at the other who was beginning to shiver, “I...I’ve...never seen Keith this scared.”

“This is creeping me out,” Lance frowned before he rested his hand to Pidge’s elbow, “Keith...he’s just...I don’t know...not Keith-like right now.”

“Well, I don’t think I’d be myself either,” Shiro stared at the corner of the blanket before looking at them, “Keith...He was in his room, chained and muzzled to his wall...and he’s clearly been beaten up.”

Shiro gazed down at the bruise beginning to show on the younger’s brow, it was going to look bad later on. Shiro didn’t have to look to know that Keith no doubt had more underneath his clothes, especially since he was starting to favor his left wrist. Looking down, he could see the fingerprints forming on the other’s wrists…

“How could they do this?” Pidge demanded as she glared at the door, “I’m going to murder whoever thought they could mess with Keith!”

“N-n-no,” a weak voice interrupted them as Shiro gazed down at his best friend who was staring at Pidge. Unfortunately, his eyes were not back to normal, his voice a little huskier than before, “C-can’t.”

“But they hurt you, man,” Hunk frowned at him, which Keith snapped his eyes to, “Can’t you just tell us who did this?”

“N-no,” Keith wrapped one leg around Shiro’s before pressing the blanket further up, “W-won’t.”

“Why won’t you tell us who did this?” Allura asked but softened when Keith flinched again, “Keith, we will not hurt them. We just wish to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“It w-will,” Keith choked out before placing his face to Shiro’s chest, “C-can’t stop th-them.”

“Stop who?” Pidge asked curiously as Shiro gently held Keith tighter, “Who do we need to stop?”

“Ev-everyone,” Keith curled up more as he buried his face into Shiro’s sternum all the way. Everything came out muffled as he uttered something that none of them could catch.

“What was that, Keith?” Shiro rubbed his hair, which had the younger looking up at him with the most heartbroken eyes, “Keith, we won’t be mad at you or them. Just...we want to help you, but we can’t unless you tell us what happened. Please, Keith.”

“Room wou-wouldn’t let in,” Keith shuddered before closing his eyes, “Went...went to find you...and cadets...stopped me…”

“What else happened?” Shiro asked softy, practically whispering to his best friend so he didn’t frighten the other out of his story.

“Th-they said st-stuff,” Keith panted before looking up at him, eyes slowly returning to normal, not that it made Shiro feel any better, “And we got into...a fight...didn’t want to hurt them...not like when I was...was cadet.”

“What…” Hunk frowned before swallowing thickly, “What happened next?”

“They…” Keith paused as another strange noise left his mouth, “They got into my room...and the muzzle...couldn’t open my mouth...couldn’t move…”

“Shhh,” Shiro rubbed the other’s hair more, “Do you remember anything they said?”

“To...g-go back to m-my p-people,” Keith frowned before pressing tighter to the older, “G-gonna turn crazy. Get you killed. That you…”

Keith broke off suddenly.

“That I’d what?” Shiro asked as Keith refused to look at him. He tilted his head up, “Keith, talk to me, please. I just want to help.”

“That you’d forget,” Keith huffed slowly before tucking himself closer, “That you’d ignore me...because I’m worthl-”

Intense anger and fear slammed into Shiro’s heart. Words from his clone came back suddenly, how the other had said Keith was not worth anything. It had always been a big issue for Keith, to be valued by someone he loved. To have a purpose. To be needed.

“No,” Shiro held onto the other, closing his eyes as the fight came to mind, the blinding flashes as he stared at Keith who was bathed in scarlet violet light. The words echoed in his brain as he pressed his chin to the other’s hair, “They are wrong, Keith. _He_ was wrong. You’re worth everything. You’re not broken. You’re perfect to me, okay? I’d...I’d never abandon you, never could. God, everything is great about you, Keith. Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise.”

“I…” The other peeked at him with wide eyes, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Shiro nodded before he placed his hand to Keith’s shoulder, “I love you too, Keith.”

“I…” Keith continued to stare at him with big eyes before they softened, “Love you.”

And then Shiro hugged him harder, glancing over at the others as Keith nuzzled into his neck. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

…..

"This has to stop!" Shiro shouted as he banged his Altean fist against the table, arm denting the metal a few inches inward as a few officers in the meeting jumped at the sound, "Iverson, Sam, we have to do something!"

"What happened, Shiro?" Sam stared at him, most likely seeing the nasty bruise and long scratches he sported on his cheek. The older man reached forward to check it, and Shiro let him, knowing the oldest Holt was just worried about him. He’d be concerned too if someone showed up looking like he must.

"Keith was attacked today," Shiro growled as he glared at the people in the room, placing his blame on most of them for even agreeing to the terms they had which led to this, "While trying to go back to his room, which by the way, wouldn't let him inside."

"What happened?" Iverson asked with a serious, grim expression as he crossed his arms, looking well beyond his years, "Who did it?"

"Some of the cadets," Shiro answered back as he gripped the metal below his hands, still remembering Keith's panic when he had found him chained up to the wall, "Four of them stopped him when he was coming back to find someone to let him into his room. Keith tried to get around them, but they wouldn't let him. Keith...it led to a fight, which Keith lost."

He sees more than one person in the room smirk at that...as if they were happy that happened to his best friend. Shiro's anger only grew as he slammed his fist down on the table, leaving a crack down the center. Everyone jumped this time, including Iverson and Sam. 

"Calm down, Shiro-" Sam began but Shiro was too enraged to listen. These people wouldn't be sad at all if Keith died. All they were stuck on was that the younger was Galra.

"No!" He snapped as he glared at them all, "You should have never agreed to those restrictions. All these rumors and lies!! They're floating around and it's harming Keith! You know what the cadets did?"

A few people looked like they wanted to comment, but Shiro cut them off.

"They beat Keith up! They told him that he should go back to his people! They said horrible things no one should have to hear!" Shiro cried out as he felt hot tears rush to his eyes. He refused to let them fall as he leaned against the table, now quieter, "They muzzled and chained him to a wall. In his own room. Like a fucking _animal_ for someone to find. All because he's 'too dangerous'."

Sam and Iverson both paled, looking sick at the news. Shiro felt the same. At that time, some of the officers squirmed uncomfortably.

"Didn't we have a no-bullying policy in place back when I was an officer? Or did we become moral less when the war hit?" Shiro questioned them all, glaring with intense hatred flowing through his veins, "You're no better than the Galra Empire."

"Now listen he-"

"No, you will listen," Shiro frowned murderously at the man who had spoken, "Right now, there is a young man who is scared out of his mind, thinking that someone else is going to chain him up again or worse. He's been through more than you can imagine, and he's come out of it stronger. Tell me? Have any of you fought off trained soldiers for two full days without rest? Have any of you fought on until you dropped with exhaustion? Were any of you forced to fight your mind-controlled best friend who was trying to murder you? Hell, have any of you ever even been in the front lines?"

They all looked down in shame.

"Exactly. Keith has," Shiro narrowed his eyes, "We've all been through tough times as Paladins of Voltron, and Keith is very much human like the rest of us. Just like the rest of the Galra are too. But apparently, everyone has let their prejudiced minds get the better of them."

"But the Galr-"

Shiro laughed darkly, a sound that he knew sent chills down their spines. Those who had not paled before now did as he frowned deeply.

"The Galra hurt me just as much. They took my arm, my friends, more than two years of my life, and then my life," Shiro growled at them, snarl on his lips, "They beat me, starved me, branded me, cloned me, made me kill for their entertainment. But Keith...Keith never did. Keith is my best friend, the one I trust with my life. I will openly hand him a knife, any time, knowing he would never ever hurt me. He's loyal beyond reasonable, and he has never given up on me in the time he's known me."

Shiro shook his head, too disappointed to go on. Disgust curled in his stomach like sour milk.

"The only reason I'm here today is because of that man," Shiro sighed tiredly before letting go of the table and standing straight, "So if you want to speak highly of me, but poorly of him, forget it. It's just too bad that innocent people will get caught in your racist views. Good job at sponsoring the racism you said was not tolerated here."

And like that, Shiro left.

…..

Keith's still trembling when Shiro gets back to his own room. The younger gazes over at him with a dull expression, probably too exhausted to even jump from fright. A tiny whimper leaves him before he leans forward, reaching both arms out. Shiro doesn't say anything as he settles onto the bed, wrapping his arms around his best friend who silently nuzzles his neck. No one else was in the room, probably understanding that they needed to be alone.

"Get some sleep, Keith," he speaks softly before pressing his chin to the other's ebony hair and rubbing his hand along the other's back. Keith instantly goes to sleep, but Shiro knows it's going to be a rough night. They were both bound to have nightmares.

Slowly, he falls asleep too.

…..

Shiro is right.

The night goes horribly for both of them. First, Shiro has the pleasure of his nightmare slamming into him, showing him Keith again. It starts with Keith being muzzled to the wall, frantic and frightened. Then it morphs so he's over Keith, leaning his knee on the younger's leg, pinning him down as he cuts a burning sword through the other's head. Keith stares at him with so much pain in his eyes. Before him, the younger screams in pain as he starts to fight it, pushing against Shiro as claws scrape against his chest. Shiro pushes down further into soft smooth flesh-

With a small gasp, Shiro wakes to something sharp cutting into his chest. Glancing down, he can see Keith's fingers. The younger cries out just then, pulling his arms away before he curls into a tight ball, head pressed to Shiro's chest. Before he can think, the younger man lets out a panicked yelp before his fingers slide to his pale, sweaty cheeks. Before Shiro can stop him, his claws dig into the past sores. Blood begins to slip from each reopened wound as Keith starts to dig harder and harder. 

Shiro quickly snatches his wrists up, causing Keith to fight more, thrashing and kicking and biting sharply. A low growl echoes around the room before Keith's eyes snap open. Dazed golden eyes stare at his chest like they aren't seeing it, and ragged pants fall from Keith's tongue.

"It's okay, Keith," Shiro comforted him with a hand on his shoulder, loose and warm, "You're okay."

"H'rts," Keith groaned quietly as he shuddered slightly, pulling closer to Shiro and resting his forehead against the older's sternum. A moment passed before he slid back asleep, huffing slowly on Shiro's body. 

Shiro didn't know what to do. He couldn't make people like Keith. He couldn't force them to be nice. 

But he wouldn't let this happen again. If Keith died...Shiro couldn't...wouldn't let it get that far. This was serious. One of these attacks would kill him. Brushing his hand through Keith’s silky hair, he laid there the whole night, not sleeping at all.

…..

It was a whole three months now.

Three months since Keith got stopped in the hallway. Three months since the higher ups agreed to limit Keith's access. Three whole months since everyone found out Keith is Galra.

"You shut your quizzaking hole!"

Shiro rubbed his face as he listened to Romelle scream at an officer. In all honesty, the woman deserved it after what she commented, saying that Keith had planned with the rogue members of Sendak's group that evaded arrest during the fight. Keith never would do that, but convincing a room full of people who wouldn't hear him out of that was impossible. 

"I'm just saying what everyone else here is thinking," she glared back at the blonde before shooting Keith a look, steel grey eyes narrowed, "He's Galra. He can't be trusted!"

"He's our leader and our friend!" Hunk glared right back at her from across the table, "And if he goes, good luck finding another paladin to pilot the Black Lion."

"As Hunk said," Allura spoke stiffly, hands on the table before her, "Keith cannot be replaced. The lions choose their paladins. I'd advise you to let go of your hate for the Galra."

"Oh yeah!" Another officer shouted with a frown, "What do you know about that? You're buddy buds with all kinds of Galra."

"Guys," Keith tried to get their attention, but no one except Shiro heard him.

"The Galra did plenty to me," the princess hissed as she glared with pure ice in her eyes, "They destroyed my home! Took my planet and people! Killed my father! Betrayed me!"

Allura closed her eyes for a moment before sighing softly.

"But I have found a new home, with new people. A new family," she smiled softly over at Lance who grinned back. The Altean gazed at each of them before finally landing on Keith with a smile, "And Keith is part of that…I was just like you back when I found out Keith was half Galra. I treated him horribly, and I have come a long way since then. If you wish to blame someone, blame those who have done you wrong. Blame Sendak or the rogues, but not Keith nor the Blade of Marmora. They are on our side and without them, none of us would be here today. Not you, nor I nor Voltron."

"But he could easi-"

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Lance shouted as he crossed his arms, "He already helped save you once!! In case you forgot, he almost died from it!! I'm pretty sure that's a good indication that he's not bad."

"Guys…"

"I beg to diff-"

"No," Pidge growled back as she also glared, "If you were a little less egotistical and stubborn you'd listen to sen-"

"GUYS!" Keith demanded as he slammed his hands down, making them all jump in surprise, "Just let it go."

"But-"

"If they don't want to believe us, they don't have to," Keith stared at the table, more tired than Shiro had ever seen before, eyes dark and filled with hopelessness, "Let's just figure a way to disarm that bomb."

…..

They figured out a way.

It turned out that a small faction of Sendak's group had stayed loyal, fleeing to bid their time to strike. And here they were, a small group of twenty, fighting it out. Keith had ran off in the middle of the fight, ready to disarm the bomb since the scanner to do so was activated by Galra-DNA again. The sounds around kept getting louder and louder as the bomb charged not unlike what went down on Naxela. Shiro groaned as he pushed the memory back, ignoring it as he knocked the closest Galra soldier out.

And then everyone was down as the noise kicked off.

They let out a cheer as the noise died down all the way. Everything became silent enough to hear pins drop onto the ground. Shiro glanced off to the side at the rest of the team who was ecstatic, shaking hands and crying happy tears. Shiro himself joined in with a relieved grin.

Until a chuckle brought his attention back to the enemy.

The rogue Galra leader laid there with his head to the floor as he laughed wickedly, too weak to do anything else. Yellow eyes stared at him as he glared at the other.

“What’s so funny?” Lance asked with a serious frown, just as lost as they all were, “I think we hit you a little too hard.”

“Hah…” The man smirked with wicked intent, “The bomb has been stopped, but there’s something I never told you. The offset room had a failsafe. Anyone who stops it once it has been activated will die.”

“AHHH!”

Keith’s pained scream echoed into the air as Shiro’s heart leapt into his throat. Another scream lit up the silence around them as the alien chuckled again.

“Victory or death,” the man coughed weakly as his nose bled more, “It looks like I got both.”

A strangled shout pushed Shiro into a sprint as he raced into the room. Running to the door, it wouldn't open as he smashed his fist against the scanner. Looking inside, he could see dark sparks of energy flying around Keith, looking like vultures picking his friend apart. Every five seconds, a zap of the dark magic would snap at Keith, causing the younger to cry out in agony.

“Quintessence!” Allura shouted in fear as Pidge began hacking the door, “It's charging Keith's body with too much! If it continues, he'll die!”

Another scream lit up the air as Shiro whipped his head back to the younger. He was on one knee, staining to stay upright through all the quintessence energy. The energy spurts were hitting Keith faster now, one touching him just as another left. Keith was shaking tremendously as he let out another choked cry.

Shiro died a little inside at each grunt and whimper. The screams tore his heart out.

“Almost there…” Pidge squinted as she typed on her computer. The door turned green, ready to be opened. Unfortunately, at that same time, the light inside exploded, blinding them as a more guttural howl of agony filled their ears. It raged on for a few seconds before it cut off suddenly. The clatter of metal onto the floor made them jump as the light died off. Shiro rushed into the room.

Keith was laying on the floor, too still for Shiro's comfort. Rushing to his side, the older quickly pulled him into his arms before turning him upright. He was pale and some sweat clung to his face as a few breaths left his lips.

"Is he…" Pidge trailed off, too afraid to ask.

"He's alive," Shiro reassured before pulling his best friend to his chest, "But he's not doing so good."

Just then, Keith made a tiny noise. Shiro snapped his head towards the younger who was beginning to stir. Rubbing a hand over the other's bangs, he was surprised when he got a deep purr from Keith. But he didn't have time to ponder it as Keith's eyes slid open.

Purple eyes were narrowed into slits nearly seven times smaller than his normal irises. His face pulled into an expression he had never seen on his friend before, all sharp yet somewhat unaware. Shiro could see claws in the corner of his eye, ones that hadn't been there on the Red Paladin before. 

Keith let out a hissing sound before he scrambled back from Shiro. The older was stunned as Keith pushed himself to the other side of the room, where he had nowhere to go. The door was to the others' backs. Keith pressed himself to the wall while glaring at them. A low growl echoed around the room. Shiro watched in horror as Keith’s skin began to change from pale peach to an off-purple.

“What the hell is happening!”

“He’s…” Allura stared at Keith with wide eyes as she gasped, “His body is absorbing that quintessence. How is this possible! He should have gone off like a bomb by now.”

“Uhhh…” Hunk frowned before looking at the woman, “Isn’t that a good thing? I don’t think we want a Keith bomb.”

“It’s just as bad,” she took a step closer only for Keith to narrow his eyes and tense up, “That much quintessence can damage someone. Remember the story of what happened to Haggar and Zarkon?”

“Oh, shit,” Lance stated as they all realized how bad this was, “This isn’t good.”

“He’s gone feral,” Allura admitted with a sad look, “If we thought he was bad a few months ago...this is going to be impossible to get him back to normal without help. He-”

Allura froze for a moment, eyes even wider.

“Allura?”

“Oh no,” she raised her hands, which took on a glowing tint. Even from feet away, Keith growled before crying out in pain, sliding to the floor weakly, “I am correct. The quintessence…”

“What about it?” Shiro demanded as he stared at his best friend who was panting, “What, Allura?”

“The quintessence has bound itself to Keith’s,” tears sprang to her eyes, “If I try to remove it, I’ll kill Keith...but we can’t leave it there. If we don’t get rid of the excess amount, he’ll die anyway.”

“I’m going to guess it’s like loading your body with too much caffeine,” Pidge spoke, “It gives you plenty of energy but too much can cause a crash and a burnout.”

“Exactly,” Allura nodded as they watched Keith get back up, teeth sharp now as his ears sharpened out just like his mother’s, “And his body is going to change with this much quintessence in it. At some stage, there will be no return.”

“Well, shit,” Lance muttered as they watched Keith stumble forward into the wall, “Is...is he gonna grow...anything? Or...he’s not going to get seizures or something, right?”

“I have no idea,” the Altean answered as they all watched Keith who grabbed onto the wall with his fist, denting the tough metal, “I really do not know.”


End file.
